Bento and essays. Writing has meaning beyond merely making a living.
HIRATADAIシェア
Recently, to manage my pocket money (and for my health), I've been making my own bento. Usually, it's just leftovers from the day before, with some sausages or an egg dish added. It suddenly occurred to me that "essays are a lot like bento boxes." Perhaps haiku are too. A bento that isn't for business is essentially made for oneself, family, or close friends. Some people make them beautifully to post on Instagram or X (formerly Twitter), but otherwise, they're made with a decent appearance. If it's a bento just for yourself, it's not originally meant for public display, so there shouldn't be a need to worry too much about how it looks. Being too conscious of showing it to others becomes tiring. You won't keep it up.
A "Paterson"-esque Way of Being
In the film "Paterson," which I love, the main character, bus driver Paterson (Adam Driver), is depicted writing poems in his notebook every day. His wife suggests he publish them, but Paterson isn't keen. He just likes writing poetry before his bus departs and eating the bento his wife made him while gazing at the waterfall in the park.
Regarding diaries, essays, or haiku, of course, there are valuable ones written to reach someone. But if writing for SNS or blogs becomes too much of a burden, then writing as if you're making your own bento, at least for me, is just right.
Torahiko Terada: The Man of Science and Haikai
My favorite writer is probably Torahiko Terada. Torahiko Terada was a physicist who belonged to the University of Tokyo and RIKEN. He is also credited with the saying, "Earthquakes come when you've forgotten about them," after the Great Kanto Earthquake, but this is not certain. Besides his work on X-rays, Terada also researched how cracks form and how the protrusions on konpeito (sugar candy) are made.
He was also a pupil of Natsume Soseki, though Soseki is said to have treated him almost as an equal. Terada also indulged in haiku, and his descriptive essays, such as "Acorns" and "Streetcars and Baths," are first-rate. It's as if making poems and prose out of the mysteries and "aware" (pathos) felt in daily life, and conducting scientific research, are inseparable, or perhaps they originate from the same place.
Neither Terada nor Paterson made writing their primary profession. They didn't intend to make a living from it. They just kept writing. It's like making a bento. Not to show anyone, but just to eat. And to feel a unique beauty that only they can understand.
That's what's important. Having time to write in one's life. Documenting one's inner workings.
The Nature of Conversational Writing
There has probably never been a time when everyone writes as much as they do now. On social media, blogs, chats, and emails. AI helps, but it's terribly driven by purpose. To get conversions, to get the boss's approval. There's a lot of writing like that.
After the pandemic, many people probably realized the importance of casual conversation. I've been working remotely ever since I became independent, and it took a toll on my mental and physical health. Having a colleague nearby with whom you can have trivial conversations is a good thing. Though I dislike working in organizations...
Similarly, writing only with a purpose is exhausting. There was a time when I got so tired of text communication that I genuinely disliked writing. I grew to dislike words and even thought that voices were better.
But learning about Paterson and Terada, I realized there's a more gentle way to approach writing.
You don't have to try to make a living from writing, or expect people to think you're amazing because of your writing. There's a brilliance that only you, only the "system" created by your interests and actions, can emit. That should be written down. It doesn't have to be a clean draft immediately. Just jot it down in a notebook in a script only you can read. Then, someday, compile it. If it eventually looks presentable to others, then publish it.
I wish for such a time and habit of writing, like making a bento. Like bento, it's easy to give up after three days. To prevent that, I think the key is to write a lot of "good enough" level prose, just as you'd make a bento with frozen food or yesterday's leftovers. Even such writing, if it genuinely moved your heart, is a significant footprint. And sometimes, those footprints can move others too.
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